Conversations about Health and Wellbeing

Just to be Clear – This is a Social Justice Issue

Following on from my blog earlier this week, I want to be really clear in what I am saying!

The funding formula used in health and social care is weighted towards the wealthy and the well…therefore the north is worse off compared to the south…

We are already at a major deficit in terms of health outcomes, in the north

The cuts affecting northern county councils were deeper and harder – both in terms of public health and social services, with a profound knock on effect to the NHS – therefore the further ‘efficiency savings’ being requested of us have an even more detrimental effect

The actual investment from the government as shown by the King’s fund is not 8-10billion as promised, but only 4.5billion

If you take into account economic growth, inflation and population need, the ‘investment’ is actually a disinvestment…..

On top of this is the fact, shown through HEE (Health Education England) that the NW in particular has a massively reduced investment in recruitment compared to other areas, which flies in the face of what the Nuffield Trust and King’s Fund have shown is needed in areas of higher deprivation and worse health outcomes

Even if we save the £560m we’re being asked to as an STP, our deficit at 2021 is £804m

My argument is this: if the correct investment was made, the formula wasn’t weighted against us and we therefore received the correct allocation of resource according to the task ahead of us, we would actually probably be in surplus and could really make a difference – we are already doing loads of great stuff, but asking us to make bricks with no straw is beyond the pale.…..as it is, what we’re being asked to do may affect the health and wellbeing of our population negatively because we are already at such a deficit, before we start….